Patrick Miller – Shears

I found this image in ‘Hand Job: A catalog of type’ but have not been able to find any other source for this piece, or the artist who did it.

The typography here is fun and inventive. I particularly enjoy the way it links to what it’s advertising, a barbers called ‘shears’. I have been trying to do a similar thing within my project, linking the typography and or speech bubbles to the characters. I was inspired by this piece for the style of the hair on the yeti speech bubble.

The way the hair is drawn makes it look sleek and clean which is subtle but effective as if the hair had been unruly and messy I do not think this would have worked as well. This way it gives a quirky sense of elegence and cleanliness associated with barbers shops, if the hair had been messy it would have come off badly advertising the shop.

Since half the type is just normal it makes the typography look amusing, as if every letter has a full head of hair. This also ensures the letters are not disguised by the ‘ornate’ hair, making it still easily readable and not a struggle for the viewer.